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Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

Are you a farmer or rancher whose operation has been directly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic? The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program provides direct relief to producers who faced price declines and additional marketing costs due to COVID-19.

USDA is accepting applications now through August 28, 2020. Producers should apply through the Farm Service Agency at their local USDA Service Center.

About the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, or CFAP, provides vital financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline or who had losses due to market supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 and face additional significant market costs. Eligible commodities include:

Program details are specific to agricultural commodities, as outlined below.

Non-Specialty Crops

CFAP payments are eligible to producers of non-specialty crops who have suffered a five percent-or-greater price decline over a specified time as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and who face increased marketing costs for inventories.

Wool

CFAP payments are eligible to wool producers who have suffered a five percent-or-greater price decline over a specified time as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and who face increased marketing costs for inventories.

Producers will be paid based on inventory subject to price risk held as of January 15, 2020. A single payment will be made based on 50 percent of a producer’s 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory as of January 15, 2020, whichever is smaller, multiplied by 50 percent and then multiplied by the commodity’s applicable payment rates.

Visit farmers.gov/cfap/wool for more information on CFAP eligibility and payment details related to wool.

Livestock

CFAP assistance is available to livestock producers who have an ownership interest in eligible livestock that have suffered a five percent-or-greater price decline as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and face additional significant costs in marketing their inventories due to unexpected surplus and disrupted markets.

Livestock eligible for CFAP include cattle, hogs, and sheep (lambs and yearlings only).

Dairy

CFAP payments are eligible to all dairy operations with milk production in January, February, and/or March 2020. Any dumped milk production during the months of January, February, and March 2020 is eligible for assistance.

Visit farmers.gov/cfap/dairy for more information on CFAP eligibility and payment details related to dairy production.

Specialty Crops

Producers of specialty crops are eligible for CFAP payments in the following three categories:

Had crops that suffered a five percent-or-greater price decline between mid-January and mid-April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,

Had produce shipped but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channel, and

Had shipments that did not leave the farm or mature crops that remained unharvested.

CFAP Payment Report

This report tracks CFAP payments and applications by state, and is current as of June 3, 2020. Weekly report updates will be posted every Monday.

CFAP Eligibility

Eligible producers (person or legal entity) of specified agricultural commodities outlined above who have suffered a five percent-or-greater price decline as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and who face substantial marketing costs for inventories, are eligible for CFAP payments.

To be eligible for payments, a person or legal entity must have an average adjusted gross income of less than $900,000 for tax years 2016, 2017, and 2018. However, if 75 percent of their adjusted gross income comes from farming, ranching, or forestry, the AGI limit of $900,000 does not apply.

Persons and legal entities also must:

comply with the provisions of the “Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation” regulations, often called the conservation compliance provisions;

if a foreign person, provides land, capital, and a substantial amount of active personal labor to the farming operation; and

not have a controlled substance violation.

CFAP Payment Limitations and Structure

Payment Limitations

CFAP payments are subject to a per person and legal entity payment limitation of $250,000. This limitation applies to the total amount of CFAP payments made with respect to all eligible commodities.

Unlike other FSA programs, special payment limitation rules will be applied to participants that are corporations, limited liability companies, and limited partnerships (corporate entities). These corporate entities may receive up to $750,000 based upon the number of shareholders (not to exceed three shareholders) who contribute at least 400 hours of active person management or personal active labor.

For a corporate entity:

With one such shareholder the payment limit for the entity is $250,000;

With two such shareholders, the payment limit for the entity is $500,000 if at least two members contribute substantial labor or management with respect to the operation of the corporate entity; and

With three such shareholders, the limit is $750,000 if at least three members contribute substantial labor or management with respect to the operation of the corporate entity.

Payment Structure

To ensure the availability of funding throughout the application period, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date as funds remain available.

Ineligible Commodities and Request for Additional Commodities

Commodities that did not suffer a five percent-or-greater price decline from mid-January 2020 to mid-April 2020 are not eligible for CFAP. Specifically, this includes sheep more than two years old, eggs/layers, soft red winter wheat, hard red winter wheat, white wheat, rice, flax, rye, peanuts, feed barley, Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton, alfalfa, forage crops, hemp, and tobacco. USDA may reconsider the excluded commodities if credible evidence is provided that supports a five percent price decline.

USDA will consider additional commodities to be eligible for CFAP by collecting information on potentially eligible commodities.

Producers of commodities not included on the original CFAP list who believe they’ve suffered a five percent-or-greater price decline between January and April 2020, and who face additional marketing costs due to COVID-19, may submit comments to provide information about additional commodities.

USDA is particularly interested in the obtaining information with respect to the following specific categories of agricultural commodities:

Nursery Products

Aquaculture Products

Cut Flowers

Comments may be submitted through either of the following methods by June 22, 2020:

How to Apply

Producers should apply through their local Farm Service Agency Service Center. While USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only, FSA is working with our agricultural producers by phone and using email and online tools to process applications. Please call your FSA county office to schedule an appointment. You can find contact information for your local USDA Service Center at the bottom of the page.

Applications can be submitted electronically either by scanning, emailing, or faxing. Please call your office prior to sending applications electronically.

A CFAP Call Center is available for producers who would like additional one-on-one support with the CFAP application process. Please call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to offer assistance.

CFAP Application

CFAP Application Generator and Payment Calculator is available to assist with the CFAP application process. This Excel workbook allows you to input information specific to your operation to determine estimated payments and populate the application form. NOTE: Microsoft Excel is required to use this workbook. Please download the workbook by clicking the Application Generator and Payment Calculator link, then save to your computer. You will need to open the file and enable editing and/or enable macros at the top of the Excel sheet to input information specific to your operation.

Producers self-certify when they apply for CFAP, and documentation is not submitted with the application. But you may be asked for additional documentation to support your certification of eligible commodities, so you should retain the documentation used to complete your application.

Other materials that may be needed:

In addition to the application form, our staff will work with you to complete portions of the CCC-902 – Farm Operating Plan – if necessary. Additionally, the following forms are needed for CFAP; if you are an existing customer, this information is likely on file at your local Service Center.

CCC-901 (Also Available in Spanish) – Identifies members of a farm or ranch that is a legal entity. Member Information will be completed by legal entities and joint operations to collect the following:

FSA has streamlined the signup process to not require an acreage report at the time of application and a USDA farm number may not be immediately needed.

Background on CFAP

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, or CFAP, uses funding and authorities provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and other USDA existing authorities. This $19 billion immediate relief program includes direct support to agricultural producers as well as the Farmers to Families Food Box Program.

Eligible farmers and ranchers will receive one CFAP payment, drawn from two possible funding sources. The first source of funding is $9.5 billion in appropriated funding provided in the CARES Act and compensates farmers for losses due to price declines that occurred between mid-January 2020, and mid-April 2020 and for specialty crops for product that was shipped and spoiled or unpaid product. The second funding source uses the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to compensate producers for $6.5 billion in losses due to on-going market disruptions.

Resources

CFAP Application Generator and Payment Calculator: This Excel workbook allows you to input information specific to your operation to determine estimated payments and populate the application form. NOTE: Microsoft Excel is required to use this workbook. Please download the workbook by clicking the Application Generator and Payment Calculator link, then save to your computer. You will need to open the file and enable editing and/or enable macros at the top of the Excel sheet to input information specific to your operation. A video preview with more information is available here.

Frequently Asked Questions: These include recent questions that we have received from producers. They were last updated on June 1, 2020.

CFAP Payment Report: This report tracks CFAP payments and applications by state, and is current as of June 3, 2020.

Stakeholder Toolkit: USDA encourages producers and agricultural groups to share information with those in their network. This toolkit includes an article, an infographic, and social media posts.

CFAP Introductory Webinar: This webinar hosted by USDA’s Farm Service Agency and Agricultural Marketing Service provides basic information on how producers can prepare for the upcoming signup for CFAP. The transcript for this webinar is available in Spanish.

CFAP and Small Business Administration Programs

Participation in SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or Economic Injury Disaster Loan program does not impact producer eligibility for CFAP or for any USDA farm program. The PPP duplicate benefit provision does not have an impact on FSA farm programs or farm loan programs.

USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program

Beyond direct support to farmers and ranchers, through this program, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is partnering with national, regional, and local suppliers, whose workforce has been significantly impacted by the closure of restaurants, hotels, and other food service businesses, to purchase up to $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat products. The program will purchase $461 million in fresh fruits and vegetables, $317 million in a variety of dairy products, $258 million in meat products, and $175 million in a combination box of fresh produce, dairy, or meat products. Suppliers will package these products totaling $1.2 billion into family-sized boxes, then transport them to food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other non-profits serving Americans in need from May 15 through June 30, 2020. AMS may elect to extend the period of performance of the contracts, via option periods, dependent upon program success and available remaining funds, up to $3 billion.

Find Your Local Service Center

We are committed to delivering USDA services to America’s farmers and ranchers while taking safety measures in response to COVID-19. While employees continue to staff our Service Centers, they are only available for phone appointments at this time. While access is restricted to the buildings, our services are still available via phone appointment or online. Learn more at farmers.gov/coronavirus.

USDA Service Centers are locations where you can connect with Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service employees for your business needs. Enter your state and county below to ﬁnd your local service center and agency offices. If this locator does not work in your browser, please visit offices.usda.gov.